Katharine Sarikakis (Univ.-Prof. Dr.)

Katharine is the coordinator of research and supervisor of individual research projects. Her interest in communication related questions about social justice and the role of institutions underpin the research agenda with 'crisis' at its centre. She professes the broadening and deepening of understandings and analytical models of media governance to include actors and ideas as well as experience and institutional practice. The aim, for her, is to connect the macro and micro levels of analysis and she has published on  the need to develop and utilise policy analysis models that place the 'human' at their centre (see publications under www.sarikakis.info).

Thomas König (BA, MA in Communication Science)

did fieldwork in Iceland, as part of his research for the thesis: "Don't worry, we're from the Internet" – Cyber activism as a form of counter governance in the European crisis" under the supervision of Professor Sarikakis. In it, he explores the irreverent internet culture emerging from the technological ubiquity and the political tensions at the institutional levels. His thesis analyses how hacktivism shapes the counter governance of the European financial crisis. Koenig comes from the digital environments of online-platforms like Shabka, and the studies of communication science and media informatics. Thomas graduated with 'Auszeichnung' (Distinction).

Izabela Korbiel (Diploma in Sociology)

is working on her PhD project investigating media coverage of suicide in times of economic crisis. Countries of interest are: Greece, Spain and Bulgaria. She studied social science, an interdisciplinary program of studies at the University of Cologne in Germany and graduated with a Diploma in Sociology. During her studies she participated in research projects, such as the evaluation of teaching quality at the Faculty for Social Science and Business Administration at the University of Cologne. She also completed an one year research internship, in cooperation with the State University Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia. In 2007 she received a scholarship and spent one term studying sociology at University Utrecht, The Netherlands. After her studies she worked at the University Bamberg, Germany on the project SCIP: Causes and Consequences of Socio- Cultural Integration Processes among New Immigrants in Europe. She also served as volunteer leader of youth exchange programmes and International Commissioner by one the German biggest scout organisations.

Asimina Koukou (BA in Communication Science, MA in European and International Studies)

is writing a PhD thesis on the governance of communicative spaces in Europe in times of crisis. She explores the role of social movements in the transformation of society through the use of social media. At the core of her work is the notion of public sphere and its revitalization for the formation and design of a sustainable democracy and society. She is supervised by Professors Sarikakis (U of Vienna) and Hofkirchner (TU Vienna). She is the recipient of the "Ludwig von Bertalanffy PhD Scholarship", awarded by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS). Her involvement with the BCSSS institute has stimulated her interest in systems science which is also a significant component of her research. Asimina has actively participated in several stages of the coverage of crisis in the European elite media, mostly focusing on the Greek and the British press.

Vera Kritsch (BA, MA in Communication Science)

has written her MA Thesis: "'United in Diversity' in the wake of the European financial crisis? – European identity in the media discourse" under Professor Sarikakis. Vera examines how the European motto "United in Diversity" applies in the context of the financial crisis. She asks which national and European identities are emerging in the press and how they are construed with regard to the motto. Vera was a visiting scholar at the The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Academy for European Studies and Communication Management, and was awarded a scholarship for the European Forum Alpbach by Club Alpbach Burgenland. She has been a tutor at the Department of Communication. Vera graduated with her MA studies with  'Auszeichnung' (Distinction).

Joan Ramon Rodriguez-Amat (PhD)

Former post-doc at University of Vienna (2011-2015), now lecturer at Sheffield Hallam, UK, is an associate member of the team. He has represented the team in several international conferences. Rodriguez-Amat's background in critical and cultural approaches and discourse analysis has contributed to the design and elaboration of the research programme and the understanding of the symbolic dimension of the crisis beyond its strictly economic characteristics.

Patricia Smolean (BA, MA in Communication science)

has written her MA Thesis supervised by Professor Katharine Sarikakis, on the rise of independent and investigative journalism in times of crisis in Europe. Her work intends to map new forms of independent and investigative journalistic projects in East and South Europe – Romania, Spain and Greece – that arose out of the distrust in the local traditional media. She is the recipient of the KWA scholarship of University of Vienna, which funded her fieldwork in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona) and Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki). Smolean has a sound background in social movements and public activities involving issues, such as freedom of expression in Romanian media. In particular she has worked on the coverage of the uncontrolled exploitation of the ecologically, socially and economically threatened area of Rosia Montana in Romania. She combines her professional and academic experience to participate in projects of public debate, visual arts, information and education, such as the young UN organization "United for Education and Sustainable Futures", Okto Television, Vienna, TEDx Vienna and the student organization AIESEC.

Lisa Winter (BA, MA in Communication Science)

has written her MA thesis "Processes of Othering" under Professor Katharine Sarikakis's supervision. She explored the media coverage of European Identity and Integration in times of crisis by identifying the generic news frames that resonate within the cross-cultural discursive community and explores the factors that may drive differences in the ways the national presses of Austria and Germany takes care of the whole teaching and organization of care of the collection of data and the archive. She coordinates the participation of students in elaborating the materials ready for analysis. Lisa graduated her MA studies with Auszeichnung (Distinction).